My Opera"It was the classic Mexican standoff" - but somebody blinked
Wednesday, March 4, 2009 2:48:22 AM
Original URL: http://bamatone.livejournal.com/276787.html
Shit's gettin' sour in the state of Alabama.
In other (also sour) news...
My dad starting paying into PACT when my sister and I were kids. It was a very good investment, and I definitely got more money out of it than we put in. All I can do is shake my head and thank God it's not affecting me.
It makes me angry, though. It should make you angry, too. How did we get into this mess? I've written about it some before, but it's all just drops in the bucket. I read something over at Fortune Magazine today that gives a really good snapshot of the beginning of this financial collapse. (Thanks, Jason.) I'm not going to get into it, but it's really scary to think just a handful of people could bring down a Fortune 500 company that never had a losing quarter in its 85 year history. And from that point on, it was just dominos. The best quote is the very last paragraph:
And even if we actually figure out how all of this happened... What to do about it now?
Shit's gettin' sour in the state of Alabama.
The Irondale City Council passed an ordinance promising to jail or fine Jefferson County officials if they impose a fee on those who are not sewer customers to help save the debt-ridden county from bankruptcy.
In other (also sour) news...
The Alabama Prepaid Affordable College Tuition trust fund is in trouble. The Birmingham News reported today that the trust fund backing Alabama's prepaid college tuition program has lost more than 45 percent of its value in a year and a half -- including 20 percent lost to the recent stock market collapse -- and program managers are scrambling to find ways to keep paying students' tuition. The money paid into the fund by the parents and grandparents of thousands of current and future students is uninsured, authorities said Monday. The Alabama Prepaid Affordable College Tuition trust fund currently has assets totaling $484 million, said Gregory Fitch, chairman of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. In September 2007 the fund had assets totaling $899 million, according to program documents. In September 2008 the fund totaled $606 million.
My dad starting paying into PACT when my sister and I were kids. It was a very good investment, and I definitely got more money out of it than we put in. All I can do is shake my head and thank God it's not affecting me.
It makes me angry, though. It should make you angry, too. How did we get into this mess? I've written about it some before, but it's all just drops in the bucket. I read something over at Fortune Magazine today that gives a really good snapshot of the beginning of this financial collapse. (Thanks, Jason.) I'm not going to get into it, but it's really scary to think just a handful of people could bring down a Fortune 500 company that never had a losing quarter in its 85 year history. And from that point on, it was just dominos. The best quote is the very last paragraph:
So should these men share in any blame for what happened to the capital markets in the wake of Bear Stearns' collapse? Former Bear CEO Alan Schwartz has told friends that he sees their role this way, "These things happen and they're big, and when they happen everybody tries to look at what happened in the previous six months to find someone or something to blame it on. But, in truth, it was a team effort. We all fucked up. Government. Rating agencies. Wall Street. Commercial banks. Regulators. Investors. Everybody."
And even if we actually figure out how all of this happened... What to do about it now?
